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Former Deutsche Bank chief energy economist Adam Sieminski presided over the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) as an appointee of President Obama, stepping down with the change of administrations. His tenure was fortuitous as the country’s energy security profile turned positive. Heading a government agency is a different undertaking and Sieminski once observed, humorously, that the problem with being a presidential appointee is that “you’re one quip away from being out of work.” In an exclusive interview, he discusses his time at the agency.

When one is tapped to be nominated to head the EIA, is there a phone call followed by a caravan of dark SUVs, Secret Service agents and back-door entry to the White House?

“No, no, no. It was nothing like that,” Adam Sieminski said, laughing at the question. “You have to fill out a lot of forms. A lot of forms.”

Nissa Darbonne is author of The American Shales and has been a journalist since 1984, beginning in the oil and gas fields of South Louisiana. She writes for Oil and Gas Investor and is actively involved in Hart's conference agendas.